On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence PDF Author: Norman F. Dixon
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465097812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
The Crimea, the Boer War, the Somme, Tobruk, Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs: these are just some of the milestones in a century and a half of military incompetence, of costly mishaps and tragic blunders. Are these simple accidents—as the “bloody fool” theory has it—or are they inevitable? The psychologist Norman Dixon argues that there is a pattern to inept generalship, a pattern he locates within the very act of creating armies in the first place, which in his view produces a levelling down of human capability that encourages the mediocre and limits the gifted. A classic study of military leadership, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence is both an original exploration of infamous modern battles and an essential guide for the next generation of military leaders.

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence PDF Author: Norman F. Dixon
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465097812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528

Get Book

Book Description
The Crimea, the Boer War, the Somme, Tobruk, Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs: these are just some of the milestones in a century and a half of military incompetence, of costly mishaps and tragic blunders. Are these simple accidents—as the “bloody fool” theory has it—or are they inevitable? The psychologist Norman Dixon argues that there is a pattern to inept generalship, a pattern he locates within the very act of creating armies in the first place, which in his view produces a levelling down of human capability that encourages the mediocre and limits the gifted. A classic study of military leadership, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence is both an original exploration of infamous modern battles and an essential guide for the next generation of military leaders.

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence

On the Psychology of Military Incompetence PDF Author: Norman F Dixon
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0465097812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
The Crimea, the Boer War, the Somme, Tobruk, Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs: these are just some of the milestones in a century of military incompetence, of costly mishaps and tragic blunders. Are these simple accidents -- as the "bloody fool" theory has it -- or are they inevitable? The psychologist Norman F. Dixon argues that there is a pattern to inept generalship, and locates this pattern within the very act of creating armies in the first place, which in his view produces a levelling down of human capability that encourages the mediocre and limits the gifted. In this light, successful generals achieve what they do despite the stultifying features of the organization to which they belong. A classic study of military leadership, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence is at once an original exploration of the battles that have defined the last two centuries of human civilization and an essential guide for the next generation of military leaders.

Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?

Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? PDF Author: Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1633696332
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Look around your office. Turn on the TV. Incompetent leadership is everywhere, and there's no denying that most of these leaders are men. In this timely and provocative book, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic asks two powerful questions: Why is it so easy for incompetent men to become leaders? And why is it so hard for competent people--especially competent women--to advance? Marshaling decades of rigorous research, Chamorro-Premuzic points out that although men make up a majority of leaders, they underperform when compared with female leaders. In fact, most organizations equate leadership potential with a handful of destructive personality traits, like overconfidence and narcissism. In other words, these traits may help someone get selected for a leadership role, but they backfire once the person has the job. When competent women--and men who don't fit the stereotype--are unfairly overlooked, we all suffer the consequences. The result is a deeply flawed system that rewards arrogance rather than humility, and loudness rather than wisdom. There is a better way. With clarity and verve, Chamorro-Premuzic shows us what it really takes to lead and how new systems and processes can help us put the right people in charge.

Firepower

Firepower PDF Author: Paul Lockhart
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 154167295X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 562

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Book Description
How military technology has transformed the world The history of warfare cannot be fully understood without considering the technology of killing. In Firepower, acclaimed historian Paul Lockhart tells the story of the evolution of weaponry and how it transformed not only the conduct of warfare but also the very structure of power in the West, from the Renaissance to the dawn of the atomic era. Across this period, improvements in firepower shaped the evolving art of war. For centuries, weaponry had remained simple enough that any state could equip a respectable army. That all changed around 1870, when the cost of investing in increasingly complicated technology soon meant that only a handful of great powers could afford to manufacture advanced weaponry, while other countries fell behind. Going beyond the battlefield, Firepower ultimately reveals how changes in weapons technology reshaped human history.

How to Think Like an Officer

How to Think Like an Officer PDF Author: Reed Bonadonna
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811769372
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
The U.S. military invests heavily in time and resources to train its officers to be leaders in the broadest sense – forming them not only in military art and science (strategy, tactics, command, etc.), but also in humanistic knowledge, character, and values, as well as how to apply this education on a lightning-fast battlefield or within an inertially slow bureaucracy. The military develops its leaders, at the service academies and in ROTC programs, through very specific but also broad and deep education – a way of thinking that also has wide application in the civilian world, not only in various professional fields that need leaders and thinkers, but also among military history enthusiasts who want to understand how officers have thought across time and among American citizens who want – and, really, need – to understand how our military leaders think, how they advise presidents, how they lead on the battlefield. In a genre-busting book that spans Stackpole’s two longstanding military programs – reference and history – Reed Bonadonna describes how officers think, how they ought to think, how they develop their skills, and how they can improve these skills, as well as how average civilians and citizens can learn from the example of military officers and their program of education. Bonadonna draws from military history, from military arts and science, from literature and science and more, to show how officers develop their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. A military officer is often called upon to be not only fighter and leader, but also negotiator, organizer, planner and preparer, teacher, writer, scientist, and advisor, and needs broad learning. This is a deeply learned and insightful book, one that cites Lincoln, Grant, Patton, Eisenhower, Marshall, and Churchill as easily as Sun Tzu and Clausewitz, not to mention Homer, Plato, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, George Orwell, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Joseph Heller, Phil Klay, and even Jane Austen. The book is descriptive as well as prescriptive and should find eager readers inside the military (where officers take seriously their professional education and their professional reading lists) as well as outside, where many look to the military, to military reading lists, and to military history, to glean lessons for life and work.

To Dare and to Conquer

To Dare and to Conquer PDF Author: Derek Leebaert
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316075450
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Book Description
In the tradition of Guns, Germs, and Steel, Leebaert tells the stories of small forces that have triumphed over vastly larger ones and changed the course of history -- from the Trojan Horse to Al Qaeda. Maps and charts.

The Utility of Force

The Utility of Force PDF Author: Rupert Smith
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307267415
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
From a highly decorated general, a brilliant new way of understanding war and its role in the twenty-first century. Drawing on his vast experience as a commander during the first Gulf War, and in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland, General Rupert Smith gives us a probing analysis of modern war. He demonstrates why today’s conflicts must be understood as intertwined political and military events, and makes clear why the current model of total war has failed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other recent campaigns. Smith offers a compelling contemporary vision for how to secure our world and the consequences of ignoring the new, shifting face of war.

The Peter Principle

The Peter Principle PDF Author: RAYMOND. HULL HULL (RAYMOND. PETER, DR LAURENCE J.)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781788166058
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
In a hierarchy, every employee rises to the level of their own incompetence.This simple maxim, defined by this classic book over 40 years ago, has become a beacon of truth in the world of work. From the civil service to multinational companies to hospital management, it explains why things constantly go wrong: promotion up a hierarchy inevitably leads to over-promotion and incompetence. Through barbed anecdotes and wry humour the authors define the problem and show how anyone, whether at the top or bottom of the career ladder, can avoid its pitfalls. Or, indeed, avoid promotion entirely!

War and the Soul

War and the Soul PDF Author: Edward Tick
Publisher: Quest Books
ISBN: 0835630056
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
War and PTSD are on the public's mind as news stories regularly describe insurgency attacks in Iraq and paint grim portraits of the lives of returning soldiers afflicted with PTSD. These vets have recurrent nightmares and problems with intimacy, can’t sustain jobs or relationships, and won’t leave home, imagining “the enemy” is everywhere. Dr. Edward Tick has spent decades developing healing techniques so effective that clinicians, clergy, spiritual leaders, and veterans’ organizations all over the country are studying them. This book, presented here in an audio version, shows that healing depends on our understanding of PTSD not as a mere stress disorder, but as a disorder of identity itself. In the terror of war, the very soul can flee, sometimes for life. Tick's methods draw on compelling case studies and ancient warrior traditions worldwide to restore the soul so that the veteran can truly come home to community, family, and self.

Simple Sabotage Field Manual

Simple Sabotage Field Manual PDF Author: United States. Office of Strategic Services
Publisher: DigiCat
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 38

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Book Description
This book contains advice and ideas for sabotage that could be carried out using simple equipment and methods. It considers methods of destruction and also obstructive techniques.